


I Just Wait

by RosaliKeys



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Age Difference, F/F, Growing Up, Pining, Puberty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-28
Updated: 2019-10-28
Packaged: 2021-01-05 13:21:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21209216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RosaliKeys/pseuds/RosaliKeys
Summary: Growing up isn't easy, a realizing you have a crush on someone you're close to just complicates things.





	I Just Wait

During their journeys with the rest of team Natsu, Erza and Wendy grew closer and closer, for reasons that couldn’t be fully explained. Some of it was a shared need for affection. Carla wasn’t a terribly demonstrative person, and while Lucy was generous with her hugs, sometimes Wendy just needed to cling to somebody for a while, and it felt awkward to do so with Lucy, especially later on when she perpetually smelled like Natsu. (Clinging to Natsu or Gray was absolutely out of the question)

Erza, on the other hand, was quite happy to share a bed on occasion, and was honestly a perfect person for Wendy to cuddle with. She was wonderfully soft once out of her armor, and was never too hot or cold, even after hours pressed together. 

Erza and Lucy were both there to support her as she went through the indignity of puberty. The first time her period cramps left her completely incapacitated, Erza was there with a hot water bottle and an excessively large bar of chocolate. Lucy provided a shoulder to cry on when the roiling emotions within Wendy just seemed to overflow. Both of them offered a listening ear, but what she told each one differed slightly. Erza heard about her frustration with the physical aspects, Lucy was told all about her emotional turmoil. 

It’s not that Carla wasn’t there for her, she was. She just didn’t fully understand what Wendy was going through, since she’d never gone through it herself. 

Lucy was the first to hear about her tentative forays into romance with Chelia. It had seemed natural, really, since they were already so close, and Lucy had urged caution, but supported her through it all. It had been nice. Kissing especially was nice, and Chelia, who had more experience than Wendy, was gentle with her. It lasted for a good while, but it did end eventually. It might have ended sooner if they had spent more time together, but they were both busy with jobs, so it took that much longer for the excitement of being with each other to fade. There was plenty of affection between them, but it wasn’t enough to maintain a romantic relationship, and they were both comfortable with that fact. 

Erza was the one she ran to, horrified, when she suddenly realized that her dress didn’t fit right in the chest any more. She had wanted a more voluptuous figure for years, but she hadn’t quite expected the discomfort that came with it. The fact that her center of gravity was thrown off completely didn’t help matters either. 

She cried when she realized that she had stretch marks, and Erza was there to comfort her then too. 

“Why do I have stretch marks?” Wendy wailed.

“Because your skin wasn’t prepared for the growth it experienced.” Erza replied soothingly, running a hand along Wendy’s back. 

“But they’re so ugly!” Wendy sobbed.

“I don’t think so.” Erza said.

“You don’t?” Wendy asked with a sniff.

“They’re a mark of honor. They’re proof that you have changed.”

“But neither you or Lucy have stretch marks! I wanted to have big boobs so bad, but I wanted it to be like you and Lucy, absolutely perfect and beautiful and sexy.” Wendy was whimpering now. 

“I have stretch marks.” Erza said, casually stripping as she spoke. “They just go unnoticed most of the time since they’re on the underside of my breasts.” 

Erza lifted her left breast, and pointed. There, plain as day, was a series of stretch marks. 

“There is nothing wrong with having stretch marks. They are a natural thing that many people have.” 

Wendy whimpered again. She was rather distracted from her stretch mark issue, if only because it was extremely difficult to think when faced (almost literally, Erza’s boobs were right at eye level) with breasts as magnificent as Erza’s. Wendy could feel her face beginning to flush. 

Erza, clearly misinterpreting her whimpers, pulled Wendy to her chest. It was a familiar place for Wendy to be, but usually there was at least one layer of clothes between her face and Erza’s impressive endowments. 

“You are a beautiful soul, Wendy, and that is far more important than any physical characteristic. Though I will say,” she said, pushing Wendy back by the shoulders to look her in the eye. “you are growing up to be an absolutely stunning woman. I’m sure Sorcerer Weekly will be insisting on featuring you in the centerfold soon enough.”

“Thank... thank you.” Wendy stuttered out. 

Later that night, Lucy heard all about Wendy’s quite impossible crush on Erza. 

“She’s just so beautiful!” Wendy wailed. “And kind, and brave, and determined, and her breasts are made of magic itself!”

“Um, sure.” Lucy said, gingerly patting Wendy on the back. “I agree with you on most of those points, and it’s not unusual to have crushes on older people that you’re close to. It’s normal, even.”

“She’s not that much older.” Wendy said with a pout and a sniffle. 

“That’s true, but Wendy, you’re only sixteen. She’s seven years older than you and it would be really questionable if the two of you did get involved right now.”

“If the issue is that she’s an adult and I’m a teenager, why was it okay for me to be involved with Chelia when she was 18 and I was 15?” 

Lucy sighed. “I know it doesn’t seem like it, but there’s a big difference between 18 and 23. The seven-year age difference won’t matter as much once you’re an adult, but right now, with your hormones in flux, Erza would be taking advantage of you.”

Wendy sighed. “It’s not like she thinks of me like that anyway. To her I’m just, I don’t know, a kid sister or something.”

Lucy smiled in commiseration. 

Things continued on in that vein for a while. Wendy crushed hopelessly on Erza, and took advantage of every shred of affection the older woman gave her. The frequent hugs and shared beds left Wendy flustered but ecstatic, and the casual way Erza would strip in front of just about anyone caused quite a number of occasions where Wendy was nothing more than a stuttering, flushed mess. She was rather glad she was a woman, actually. She didn’t know how men coped with erections. Having your arousal obvious for all to see? Embarrassing. 

Jellal’s intermittent appearances didn’t help matters any. 

By all counts, Wendy should hate him, if only because he was a rival for Erza’s affections, and had caused Erza so much pain in the past. But he was a genuinely good man, and whatever had happened in their past, he was doing his best to make amends now, and he was just so... gentle with Erza on the rare occasions he was around. 

They obviously still loved each other, but from an outside perspective, it just seemed like Jellal refused to forgive himself enough to be with Erza, while Erza stood there waiting for Jellal to finally make a move. It was frustrating. 

Just after she turned 18, and life made a bit more sense than it used to, Wendy took a long job that guaranteed she and Carla would be away from Magnolia for at least a year. 

The whole of team Natsu, plus Juvia, invaded her room to try and convince her to reconsider as she packed. 

“Why are you leaving though?” Natsu asked, as blunt as ever.

“I’m not leaving forever.” Wendy said, doing her best to hide the fact she was packing several pairs of lacy underwear. 

“Yeah, but a year’s a long time. Are you sure you want to be gone that long?” Gray asked. 

“It’ll pay really well, and they’re including room and board. Plus, I think it’ll be interesting to help with new ship designs.There aren’t a lot of air-based wizards, so they asked for me specifically. If I understood the letter I received correctly, they’re even going to be working on airships like the Christina.” 

“But why do they need you for a year? Can’t you just go when they need you for testing?” Erza questioned. 

“They also want me to help them better understand how wind and air work, and I think I’ll be teaching their engineers a few classes on the subject. Plus, their location is a really long ways away. They wanted me for three years, but I managed to talk them down to one.”

There were a few more protestations, but in the end it was her decision (well, Carla’s too, but she was all for keeping Wendy away from the rowdier members of the guild while she was at such an “impressionable age”) and she was an adult, so it wasn’t like any of them could stop her. 

The year working on aerodynamic research was good for her. She learned a lot, both about her magic and herself. 

She tried dating one of the younger researchers, since he seemed really interested in her, but after a few awkward dates and some fumbling kisses, Wendy determined she really didn’t care for men. They were just... too hard. She like softness, and curves, and the sweet, flowery smells that women tended to prefer. 

When she returned to the guild hall after a long year spent away, she was welcomed with open arms and joyous cheers, a reminder of why she had joined in the first place. 

Erza wasn’t there when she got there, out on a job, but Gray and Natsu and Lucy were there, and they drank a toast to her return. 

When she did see Erza for the first time after her year-long absence, Wendy found her a bit more stilted than usual. 

“You’ve grown.” Erza said, slightly woodenly. 

“Have I?” Wendy asked, considering. “I guess I haven’t noticed.”

“Well, you see yourself every day...” Erza said with an awkward laugh. 

“True.” Wendy said with a gigge. 

Things weren’t exactly the same after she returned. Gray and Juvia’s relationship had developed to the point where he rarely took jobs without her, and Lucy and Natsu had all but stopped taking jobs with people other than Happy. Wendy found herself at a bit of a loose end, and couldn’t help but think she was the one that ultimately split the team up.

“It’s not your fault.” Erza said, laying a hand on Wendy’s shoulder. “It was already starting to go that direction when you left.”

It was fairly intuitive to start teaming up with Erza. They were both S-class, and had worked together for years. The easy affection didn’t seem as easy anymore, but Wendy barely noticed most of the time. It was only in the quiet moments, the moments where Erza used to wrap an arm around her, but no longer did. The fact that they hadn’t shared a bed once, despite several overnight jobs. Even the fact that Erza now had some vague sense of modesty, and would go into another room to change spoke of a lack of the intimacy they once shared. 

Wendy’s crush hadn’t faded at all, but it was somehow tempered now. She still thought Erza was beautiful and brave and kind, but she no longer thought Erza was without flaw. 

It all came to a head in a town Wendy couldn’t remember the name of, in a bar that was as raucous as the guild hall, but without the comfort of familiar faces. 

Erza had left Wendy and Carla in town to do some reconnaissance that was best done alone, and Wendy was bored, and a bit horny. She had actually caught sight of Erza’s nipples through the thin shirt she had slept in, and it had left Wendy feeling restless in a slightly unfamiliar way. She had wandered to the bar in hopes of finding some good company, while Carla remained in their rented room, thoroughly unimpressed with Wendy’s need to socialize. 

She had managed to find some good company, fortunately, in the form of a gorgeous woman about her age with teal hair and very pretty violet eyes. Her figure wasn’t quite as voluptuous as the women Wendy typically went for, but she had a wicked sense of humor, a cute laugh, and seemed into Wendy in a rather flattering way. 

Wendy was laughing at something the other woman had said when Erza stormed across the floor of the bar. 

“Excuse me.” She said harshly with a glare at Wendy’s companion. “I need to talk to my comrade.” 

Wendy didn’t hear whatever the woman managed to say in response, since Erza quite literally dragged her out of the bar and into the cool night air. She probably could have fought Erza off if she really wanted to, but she was a little too surprised by her partner’s behavior to do so. 

“Why were you fraternizing with that...” Erza didn’t seem to have the right words, either because she was too mad, or because she didn’t know how to properly describe the woman Wendy had been talking to.

“That perfectly lovely woman?” Wendy asked crossly. “Maybe because I was hoping I could make a connection with her.” 

“What kind of connection would you want to make with such a person?”

“Oh I don’t know, a sexual one?” Wendy asked in a rare show of sarcasm. 

“A sex... sexual?” Erza said, suddenly growing flushed. 

“Yes, Erza, a sexual one. I’m not a little girl anymore, and I wanted to engage in sexual behaviors with someone of my preferred gender.”

“You ah, prefer women?” Erza asked, still flushed, and weirdly flustered.

“Yes.” Wendy said emphatically. “And that woman in the bar seemed like she’d be more than happy to get to know me, and I wanted to get to know her.”

“Ah, well.” 

“Well what, Erza? I might still have a chance with her if I go back in now.”

“Does it have to be her?”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you... would just anyone do? Any woman, I mean?”

“Not just any woman would do.” Wendy replied with a frown. “I would want them to be interested in me, for a start.”

“Ah, what if I were...”

“Were what?”

“Ah... that is, um, interested?”

Wendy crossed her arms. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well, you see, that is... I have noticed... since your return... ah, that, I mean to say...”

Wendy huffed impatiently.

“That is.... I think... Well, when I said you’ve grown, I didn’t necessarily mean taller.”

Wendy tilted her head. “So? I know I had to get new bras halfway through my job, but you should be used to big boobs. You’ve got a pair of your own, and you see Lucy and Marijane and Juvia all the time.” 

“Yes well, they... they just aren’t you, I suppose. None of them... well, we share a connection, don’t we? You’ve trusted me, and I’ve trusted you, and I just...” Erza sighed. “I just think that if there’s one other woman in the world that I would share such things with, it would be you. We’ve never been in competition, and we’ve shared so much, and I...” Erza seemed close to tears now. “I care for you in a way I’ve never cared for another woman.”

Wendy let her arms drop, and took a few steps closer to Erza. 

“Let’s go back to our room.” She said softly. “This isn’t a conversation to have on a dark street.”

Wendy convinced Carla to make herself scarce for a bit, and sat Erza down on one of the beds. 

“I care about you a lot.” Wendy said simply. “I’ve liked you for a long time, and nothing would make me happier than being with you, but I don’t want to just rush into something physical. It would break me if we started something super intimate and it ended because you decided it wasn’t actually something you want.” 

“I... I understand. But... I do want to be with you too. I was so jealous, seeing you flirt with that other woman. All I could think was that she wouldn’t appreciate you the way I do. That she was only interested because you’re so beautiful, and she wouldn’t care about how sweet and kind you are.” 

“What about Jellal?” Wendy asked after a tense moment.

“What about him?” Erza asked, a twinge of bitterness in her voice. “It’s been literal years. I don’t think he’s expecting me to wait for him. That self-sacrificing idiot probably thinks he doesn’t deserve me, or something equally ridiculous. As if deserving has anything to do with it. Yes, he has part of my heart, but” she looked up and into Wendy’s eyes. “Wendy, you do too. You have for a long time. I’m just seeing you in a different light than I once did.” 

Wendy took Erza’s hand. “If we’re going to start anything, we’re going to start slow, because I can’t bear to do anything else. I want you to tell me when you don’t want us to be an us anymore.” 

“When, not if?” Erza said in question. 

Wendy sighed. “I don’t want us to promise forever. Not yet. My heart couldn’t bear being promised forever and only getting a short time.”

Erza looked down again. “I understand. It’s wise, I suppose.” 

Wendy looked at her for a long moment, before moving to lay a gentle kiss on her cheek. 

“Even if it is only a short time, I’m going to treasure every moment.” 

And she did. It was somehow easy with Erza. Maybe it was because they knew each other so well, but they fit together in ways that weren’t easy to describe with words. They held hands when they were traveling. They sat close together in the guild hall, sharing slices of exquisite cake. They exchanged gentle kisses to say goodnight before slipping into different bedrooms. 

As the weeks, and then months passed, it seemed more and more likely that the short time Wendy had predicted was going to extend far beyond what she had anticipated. Their fondness for each other deepened with every touch, with every shared joke, with every shared pain and sorrow. Before Wendy knew it, they were celebrating their one-year anniversary. 

They had shared a fair amount of physical intimacy in that time, learning just what made the other gasp and moan, but that night, after a romantic dinner shared in the house Erza had just bought, Wendy let herself believe that maybe this was a lasting thing, and let go of the last of her reservations. She was rather proud of the number of orgasms she brought Erza to that night, but she wasn’t the type to kiss and tell, so it was her little secret. 

Shortly after that, the one thing she considered the final test of their relationship finally occurred. 

Jellal arrived at the guild hall with a request for help. Naturally, Team Natsu (plus Juvia) volunteered. 

It wasn’t quite an end-of-the-world type of situation, but it was serious enough that there wasn’t any time for sticky emotions to be dealt with. When it was over though, Erza pulled Jellal aside, far enough away that not even Wendy’s ears could catch what they were saying. 

They were both reserved on the return trip, but despite how Wendy burned with curiosity, she refrained from asking Erza any questions until they were home. 

In the house they had shared for the past few months, Wendy sat and waited as Erza unpacked with a strange, restless energy. 

“I just need to know one thing.” Wendy said suddenly, after countless long moments. “Are you breaking up with me?”

Erza looked at her in shock. “No... I... no. I really can’t think of ever doing that. Not now, especially.”

She sighed, and slumped onto the couch beside Wendy. 

“What happened when you talked to Jellal, then?” Wendy asked softly. 

“I told him that I had gotten tired of waiting, and that I loved you, and that we were happy together.”

“And how did he respond?” 

Erza let out a bitter laugh. “He smiled and said he was glad. That I deserved someone as good and kind as you. I got mad. I asked him if he had ever actually loved me.”

“What did he say?”

“He said he did, but that he was no good for me. That I was better off with someone who hadn’t hurt me. I told him that he was an asshole and it wasn’t for him to decide that.”

Wendy huffed out a laugh. “I bet he was surprised by that.”

“A little. Then he got mad back and said I didn’t get it. That he only wanted what was best for me. I asked him how he knew what was best for me, since he was never around.”

“You got him there.” Wendy said with a choked-off giggle. 

“And then...” Erza suddenly looked thoughtful. “And then he said that clearly you were what was best for me, since I looked so happy.” She looked up at Wendy. “And suddenly I couldn’t argue anymore, because he was right. I am so, so happy with you.” 

Wendy bent down and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. “I’m happy with you too.” And that was enough.

**Author's Note:**

> I have a lot of feels about Wendy and Erza. 
> 
> Title from a song by Paloma Faith.


End file.
